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Labour Party (Kalistan)
| Seats2 Title = Cabinet Positions | Seats2 = | Website = www.labour.ks | politics = Politics of Kalistan | political parties = Political Parties in Kalistan | elections = Elections in Kalistan }} The Labour Party (previously known as the Libertarian-Labour Alliance, Left Kalistan and the Kalistani Free People's Movement) is a left-wing party formed in Kalistan in May 4052. Established as a reforming alternative to the governing Socialist Party, the Labour Party has evolved to become one of the most prominent parties in Kalistani politics. Karen Omobo was the first party leader and, along with James McCafferty and Francesca Totti, she is considered one of the 'founders'. Under Luca Curti's leadership, the party moved to the left and established a long-time friendship and electoral agreement with the Socialist Party of Kalistan. Curti radically reshaped the party, changing the name to the 'Labour Party of Kalistan', establishing a militia known as 'The People's Army' and rewriting the constitution. During this period, the party was able to gain a number of cabinet positions- including the Premiership. Curti served as leader for thirty-five years before retiring. His sucessor, Jim O'Connell continued his legacy by strengthening ties with the Socialists. Ana Berg, who became leader in 4097 attempted to bring the party back to the political centre-ground, with mixed results. During this time, the Labour Party temporarily disassociated themselves from the Socialist Party- then headed by Omar al-Khali. Berg was eventually replaced by Maggie Lancaster, who led the party throughout the merger into 'Left Kalistan'. Since the dissolution of Left Kalistan, the party has been led by Sophia Conti (niece of former leader Luca Curti) and Jean-Baptiste Fabian. History Kalistani Free People's Movement In early 4052, James McCafferty, Karen Omobo, Elanora Raneri and Francesca Totti convened to establish the Kalistani Free People's Movement. The four friends all attended University of Kalistan during the same period. Karen Omobo was appointed as the party's first leader, with McCafferty as her deputy. She stood as the KFPM's Presidential candidate in the January 4053 national elections but was roundly defeated by incumbent Orenthall Betta of the Socialist Party of Kalistan, receiving just 0.08% of the vote. Three years later, Omobo stood again. Although she increased her share of the vote to 19.33%, she placed third behind Martin Shiltzburg (Ananto National Party), who the KFPM endorsed on the second ballot, and eventual winner Victor Bennots (Socialist Party of Kalistan). During their early history, the KFPM worked closely with the government, dominated by the SPoK, to push through some of their most important legislation. They reached a number of compromises which meant that the Intelligence Reform Act (4053), Freedom for Missionaries Act (4054) and Protection of Whales Act (4054) all passed unopposed. Omobo was outspoken in her belief in 'working with, not against' the regime. Furthermore, the KFPM developed a relationship with the Ananto National Party- recognising that the two parties faced a colossal challenge if they were to overcome the huge Socialist majority in the National Assembly. After the 4056 elections, Omobo resigned and McCafferty replaced her as leader. Luca Curti, who was a close associate of the party's founder and who had recently converted from the Socialist Party, was selected as Deputy Leader. McCafferty's term was characterised by extreme turbulence, owing to his support for radical liberalisation of Kalistan's economy and his perceived hostility to the Socialists. While they were the smallest party in the National Assembly, the KFPM's 129 seats still granted them some bargaining power. Following a period where it seemed as though the SP would find themselves in opposition, being unable to form a coalition, a last minute deal with the KFPM saw Luca Curti, Raomoaldo De Vincenzi, Ella Ferrero and Manuele Provenza become the first ministers from the Kalistani Free Peoples Movement. Luca Curti Nonetheless, McCafferty was seen as too divisive and an ineffectual leader by many and a motion of no confidence was passed in him shortly after the KFPM tabled an early elections bid in the National Assembly. In the resultant leadership election, his former deputy Luca Curti triumphed. Until now, the KFPM's politics had been somewhat liquid, often varying depending on who served on the National Executive Committee. Curti sought to mould the party as a Trade Unionist movement and a reformist alternative for the left-wing. In his first year as 'Chair of the National Executive Committee', as the position was then known, Curti dissolved the ties with the ANP (then called the Ananto and Kalistan Independence Party) and repealed Article 12 of the KFPM constitution, prohibiting the operation of a party militia. This allowed for the establishment of the 'Kalistani Free People's Army'. Curti's overhaul reached its climax in February 4058, when the KFPM was officially renamed the 'Labour Party of Kalistan'. Elections in the following January saw the party drop to 98 seats in the National Assembly but this was within a political context where the number of parties had risen from just one to six. Crucially, the Labour Party of Kalistan endorsed the Socialist Party's Victor Bennots for re-election this time, marking the begin of a long-running electoral agreement between the two. Alliance with the Socialist Party Curti continued as Premier of the Republic into Bennots second term and received a resounding motion of confidence from the party membership. At this time, the Labour Party's structure was extremely decentralised with the party leader subject to constant threat of removal by the party membership. Lorella Bonucci became Curti's deputy leader for the new term. It was during this period that signs began to appear of the strengthening relationship with the Socialist Party of Kalistan. In January 4059, President Bennots announced that he would not be seeking a third term of office and instructed the Socialists not to nominate another candidate: opening the door for an endorsement of the Labour Party. Curti was eventually selected as Labour's Presidential candidate, with the Socialist Party agreeing to endorse him on the first vote in return for being including in a potential cabinet. Additionally, two other parties: the Kalistan Passion Party (later the Kalistan Unionist Party) and the Democratic Freedom Alliance (later the Libertarian Democrats of Kalistan) supported Curti on the second ballot in January 4062. Ultimately, the contest came down to Curti and the Conservative Independence Party's Thomas Quintin on the second ballot. The former was victorious, receiving a comfortable 67.80% of the votes cast and finding himself in the position to propose a government. During Curti's first term, the turbulence which had enveloped Kalistan since Labour's founding began to subside. His first government was led by Socialist leader Fredricka Carrangus-Howard but contained the KPP and DFA too. Foreign Minister Regina Vestri oversaw the visit of Indralan and Trigunian delegations and Curti convened the first Constitutional Court in a number of years. In a remarkably similar election to his first, Luca Curti was re-elected President of the Republic in 4065- this time beating Owen Rushmoore of the CIP. Curti's second term was less inconsequential. In 4066, he had to respond to violent clashes at a protest against the Conservative Independence Party in Sulari. In February of the following year, Curti followed the precedent set by his predecessor and elected not to stand for re-election. He announced that the Labour Party instead intended to endorse a candidate from the SPoK, Premier of Ananto Forrest Simpson. Simpson was victorious in the election. Under Simpson, Curti served a largely successful second period as Premier of the Republic. However, he continued to reform the party. In 4073, he announced that the National Executive Committee would now be elected by the party membership- a radical decision to democratise the party which gave huge power to the grassroots members. Additionally, he announced that the party would begin writing a comprehensive manifesto (in reality, this never came to fruition). As the January 4074 elections approached, the Socialist Party of Kalistan confirmed that they would honour the ongoing arrangement between the two parties by endorsing a Labour Party candidate. Ultimately, that candidate was former surgeon and university lecturer Jayanta Singh; the thirty-eight year old also became Labour Deputy Leader. Singh was narrowly beaten by CIP candidate Owen Rushmoore on the second ballot, primarily thanks to the backing of the Democratic Freedom Alliance and the Kalistan Passion Party. Singh's failure and the fact that the two aforementioned parties could not support him prompted some criticism from centrist sects of the party. Once again, the party leader found themselves under immense scrutiny. At one point, it seemed as though Curti's attempts to de-centralise the party may spectacularly backfire on him when he was forced to seek re-election, along with the rest of his NEC. Although he faced opposition from a number of supporters of Marianna Simonides- an outspoken Curti critic, the majority of the incumbent NEC were re-elected. Florence Orlando was also nominated as the party's Presidential candidate. Dissolution In mid-4183, the Labour Party was suddenly dissolved following a series of accounting crises. Subsequent court cases granted the Luca Curti Foundation the right to use the intellectual property of the party's history. Leadership Leaders Below is information about every leader of the Labour Party, a role which has been known by a number of titles throughout its history. Currently it is formally refered to as 'General Secretary of the Labour Party'. The date stated as 'left office' is the date on which the new leader was elected and the current leader officially ceased to be the party leader. It is not, for example, the date of resignation. Deputy Leaders The post of Labour Party Deputy Leader is not as clearly defined as that of party leader. At times it has been both elected and appointed. Three party leaders were former deputy leaders, James McCafferty, Luca Curti and Franklin Foster Politics According to their website; "The Labour Party has adopted a platform which can be summarised as being economically Socialist, favouring state ownership of strategic industries such as energy, agriculture, transport, health and education; but socially Liberal, promoting individual liberty and freedom over repressive government dogma." Category:Political parties in Kalistan Category:Socialist political parties Category:Trade Unionist political parties